Issues

Political positions

Voting Record

Altmire has missed 0 percent of all roll call votes during his congressional career.[5]

A February 2012 analysis by National Journal found that out of the 435 members of the House of Representatives, Altmire ranks number 188 in liberal rankings. The ranking means that out of the 192 Democrats in the House, Altmire is the 188th most liberal member. [6]

Specific votes

Fiscal Cliff

Altmire voted for the fiscal cliff compromise bill, which made permanent most of the Bush tax cuts originally passed in 2001 and 2003 while also raising tax rates on the highest income levels. He was one of 172 Democrats that voted in favor of the bill. The bill was passed in the House by a 257/167 vote on January 1, 2013.[7]

Health Care

Altmire was one of 34 Democrats in the House to vote against the health care reform bill.[8]

Ballot challenge

Because of redistricting, Altmire was forced to challenge Critz in the April 24, 2012 Democratic primary. They were both running for re-election in the new 12th congressional district. Altmire was nearly forced off the ballot by a legal challenge from the Critz campaign. Critz argued that hundreds of Altmire's signatures were invalid because the petition gatherer lived outside of the district, thus violating Pennsylvania law. [12]

On March 5, however, a Pennsylvania judge ruled against Critz, allowing Altmire to stay on the ballot. After the ruling, Altmire said Critz had resorted to the tactics of a "prom king."[13]

Endorsements

Full history

To view the full congressional electoral history for Jason Altmire, click [show] to expand the section.

2010

On November 2, 2010, Jason Altmire won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Keith Rothfus (D) in the general election.[15]

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 4 General Election, 2010

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Jason Altmireincumbent

50.8%

120,827

Republican

Keith Rothfus

49.2%

116,958

Total Votes

237,785

2008

On November 4, 2008, Jason Altmire won re-election to the United States House. He defeated Melissa A. Hart (R) in the general election.[16]

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 4 General Election, 2008

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Jason Altmireincumbent

55.9%

186,536

Republican

Melissa A. Hart

44.1%

147,411

Total Votes

333,947

2006

On November 7, 2006, Jason Altmire won election to the United States House. He defeated Melissa A. Hart (R) in the general election.[17]

U.S. House, Pennsylvania District 4 General Election, 2006

Party

Candidate

Vote %

Votes

Democratic

Jason Altmire

51.9%

131,847

Republican

Melissa A. Hart incumbent

48.1%

122,049

Total Votes

253,896

Ads

On March 13, 2012, the Altmire campaign released its first two campaigns, touting the congressman's record and his roots and family background.[18]
The 30-second ads are titled "A Lot" and "Ethic." On March 28, 2012 Altmire released a 30-second ad highlight the differences between his and Critz's voting record.[19] In early April, Altmire released another ad, attacking Critz's voting record. Titled "Represent," the ad's narrator says Critz's record shows he does not represent western Pennsylvania.

"A Lot"

"Ethic"

"Stood"

"Represent"

Ad controversy

Some House Democrats expressed frustration with an Altmire ad that attacked Critz for failing to "stand up to the Tea Party" on the conservative budget proposal. Some lawmakers viewed the ad as a distortion because in reality, Critz voted "present" with party leaders, instead of "no." House Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-MD), and Reps. Robert Brady (D-PA) and Jan Schakowsky (D-IL) all publicly defended Critz against the ad. “Manipulating those issues is a disservice to our party and certainly inaccurate about Mark,” said Schakowsky.

In defending the ad, Altmire told The Hill newspaper, “It’s 100 percent accurate. My ad says he did not vote against the Tea Party budget, and he didn’t. ...No. It’s not technically correct. It’s 100 percent correct. My ad says he didn’t vote against the Tea Party budget. He didn’t. Thank you, good talking to you." Before, Critz had said that he would endorse Altmire if he won the primary. Now, that may change. "It’s this Medicare ad,” said Critz. “I’m very frustrated by that, because it’s very misleading. And for him to pick that issue and turn it into a negative ad upsets me because it really undermines what we’re trying to do as a party to protect Medicare. It angers me.”[20]

Note: The polls above may not reflect all polls that have been conducted in this race. Those displayed are a random sampling chosen by Ballotpedia staff. If you would like to nominate another poll for inclusion in the table, send an email to editor@ballotpedia.org.

Campaign donors

In the first quarter of 2012, Altmire out-raised Democratic primary rival Mark Critz. Altmire pulled in $330,000 to Critz's $285,000.[21]

Altmire has received more than $430,000 from law firms throughout his Congressional career. He has also gotten more than $300,000 in contributions from health professionals and the hospital industry.[22]

2010

Altmire won re-election to the U.S. House of Representatives in 2010. During that re-election cycle, Jason Altmire's campaign committee raised a total of $2,503,953 and spent $2,507,513.[23]

Analysis

Congressional staff salaries

The website Legistorm compiles staff salary information for members of Congress. Altmire paid his congressional staff a total of $926,145 in 2011. Overall, Pennsylvania ranked 34th in average salary for representative staff. The average U.S. House of Representatives congressional staff was paid $954,912.20 in fiscal year 2011.[24]

Staff bonuses

According to an analysis by CNN, Altmire was one of nearly 25 percent of House members who gave their staff bonuses in 2012. Altmire's staff was given an apparent $69,000.00 in bonus money.[25]

Net worth

Based on congressional financial disclosure forms and calculations made available by OpenSecrets.org - The Center for Responsive Politics, Altmire's net worth as of 2010 was estimated between $149,009 to $410,000. That averages to $279,540.50 which was lower than the average net worth of Democratic Representatives in 2010 of $4,465,875.[26]

National Journal vote rankings

2012

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. In 2012, Altmire ranked 172nd among Democratic Representatives in the liberal rankings.[27][28]

2011

Each year National Journal publishes an analysis of how liberally or conservatively each member of congress voted in the previous year. In 2011, Altmire ranked 188th among Democratic members of the U.S. House in the liberal rankings.[29]

Percentage voting with party

Jason Altmire voted with the Democratic Party 55.6% of the time, which ranked 191 among the 192 House Democratic members as of December 2011.[30]

Recent news

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